The Optical Blob is related to my previous inventions, Illusion Apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,312 and "Training Video Method and Display, U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,223"both incorporated herein by reference.
The Illusion Apparatus patent describes a diorama or display image comprising a darkened area. The image of a viewer of the diorama or display is inserted into the darkened area.
The co-pending patent discloses a means to provide a higher quality composite image. The co-pending patent also discloses a preferred method, using electronics, to move a darkened area about the display in response to the motion of the viewer.
It is also possible to move the darkened area about the display in response to signals from the previously disclosed switch mat or by other means such as a difference key or the infra-red key described in the co-pending patent. Where the display is not an electronic display, a dark mask or dark object may be moved about the display by motors in response to position signals as mentioned above or by purely mechanical linkage to the viewer.
The above methods may be expensive and/or inconvenient. It is the primary purpose of the present invention to move a darkened area, or blob, about the display, in response to the motion of the viewer, by purely optical means. In each embodiment, the viewer perceives his or her image in relation to a specific part (usually a dark region) of the display which, without moving parts, matches the position of the viewer's image.